“This comes as a result of the Government’s improved policymaking, strong performance of the economy and good prospects for the country’s fiscal and external positions”, Dar said while addressing a press conference here at Punjab House this evening.

Dar said that Standards and Poor’s has also highlighted that Pakistan continued to benefit from improving governance under the present government of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif .

The Government’s reforms programme, he said had helped to restore macroeconomic stability, reduce fiscal and external vulnerabilities , and promote growth-supporting reforms that have the potential to improve living standards.

Ishaq Dar further said that Standard and Poor’s while issuing Pakistan’s revised rating has also revised upward its forecasts of average annual GDP growth to 5 percent over 2016-2019 from earlier estimate of 4.7 percent.

He added that the credit rating agency has also forecast that Pakistan’s debt to fall below 60 percent of GDP by 2018.

“The upward revision in rating , the Agency contends , also reflects the Government’s continued focus on closing infrastructure shortfalls , reforms in the energy sector, gradual gains in fiscal consolidation and beefed up foreign exchange reserves”, he remarked.